Gymnast Kyla Ross on Training for the London 2012 Olympics

Though she now has an Olympic gold under her belt, Kyla Ross's career is just getting started. This is the first year that the Hawaiian-born teen's been eligible to compete as a senior athlete (she made the cutoff by two months!), and naturally, she scored a spot on the Olympic team in her first attempt. Prior to the Olympics, Kyla excelled by winning the junior national championship in 2009 and 2010, and finishing second in 2011. She's also got a little trick in her pocket: Kyla is one of very few gymnasts able to perform the Amanar vault, a difficult move named after the Roman gymnast Simona Amanar. Read on to learn about her training schedule and friendship with teammate McKayla Maroney.

At age fifteen, the uneven bars champion is the youngest American athlete competing in the Summer Games.

"I've been working towards this goal of making the Olympic team for some time, and it feels surreal that it's here! I got started in gymnastics when I was about three, and I started competing at higher levels when I was around eleven. To represent my country is an honor beyond words, and it goes to show that hard work pays off."

"The dynamic of our gymnastics team couldn't be any better. We're truly like sisters and are the best of friends. McKayla [Maroney] and I have been best friends since I was six, when we met through gymnastics. We all have similar interests in music and clothes, so when we have downtime, we always hang out with each other and just be girls!"

"I'm looking forward to the beam and bars! These are the two events that I have been scoring best on recently. With my personality, I seem to do better when I have the pressure of having to be perfect at every skill I do."

"I train anywhere from five to seven hours a day. I go to public school three days a week, so on those days I train in the afternoon. On the other two days when I have no school, I practice in the mornings, take a little break, and go back in the evening."

"I'm looking forward to staying at the village with all of the other Olympians and getting to meet them. Someone gave me great advice to keep a journal and take as many pictures as I can. I know this will be an experience of a lifetime."